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Canada gave a new push to Indo-Canada trade relations when it announced a new visa regime that would allow Indians 10-year multiple entry visas to the country. The announcement was made by the Canadian Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway Edward Fast at the roundtable discussion with high-level representatives of the Indian government and business community at the two-day mini PBD Canada 2011 convention, a day for Overseas Indians.

The minister said that the new visa regime would accelerate bilateral trade and investment and cultural bonds.

The convention is being organised here for the first time by the Government of India and the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and the High Commission of India as part of the celebrations to mark the Year of India in Canada. Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, who is leading the Indian delegation to the convention of the Indian-origin people settled in North America and the Caribbean, said that both countries were committed to strengthen and deepen their bilateral trade.

She said India and Canada aim at a bilateral trade target of US $15 billion in the next five years. Both countries were in talks for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that would yield significant economic benefit and lower tariff on a large number of products for both the countries.

Kaur said that the India-Canada relations had undergone a “sea change” recently. On November 12, 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper announced the launch of talks on the CEPA.

“A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is an free trade agreement (FTA) from Indian perspective. It is aimed at promoting market opening policies and stands to become one of the most important building blocks in constructing a broader and deeper bilateral relationship,” she said.

S M Gavai, the High Commissioner of India, said that the new 10 years multiple entry visa would help to meet the longstanding demand of Indians businesses and others who would like to come Canada frequently and would help in ‘Building Bridges’ between the two countries.

The PBD-Canada 2011 is a conference that brings more than 1500 high-level business and government delegates together, in Canada. It comes just a few weeks before the Bollywood Oscars in Toronto, whose TV audience of 700 million will put Canada, however briefly, at the centre of Indian cultural consciousness.

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Migrants coming to the UK to work on temporary visas will no longer be able to apply for settlement, under proposals announced by the government today.

The government is implementing reforms to the immigration system which will reduce the level of immigration to sustainable levels. Today’s announcement is the next step in this process.

Launching a public consultation on reforms to the work routes leading to settlement, Immigration Minister Damian Green set out plans to re-classify visas as either ‘temporary’ or ‘permanent’ and introduce stricter criteria for those who want to stay.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said:
‘The proposals I am making today are aimed at breaking the link between temporary and permanent migration.

‘Settlement has become almost automatic for those who choose to stay. This needs to change. The immigration system has got to be made to work properly.

‘We want the brightest and best workers to come to the UK, make a strong contribution to our economy while they are here, and then return home.’
Under the current system, many workers are allowed to apply to stay here permanently. In 2010, 84,000 people who entered the UK for employment were granted settlement. This compares to less than 10,000 who qualified for employment related settlement in 1997.

The government has already implemented new settlement requirements for skilled workers entering under Tiers 1 and 2 of the points-based system, which require applicants to demonstrate English-language proficiency, continue to meet the salary requirements and to pass a new criminality test.

Key proposals under consideration in the 12 week consultation are as follows:
– Re-branding Tier 2 (the skilled worker route) as temporary, ending the assumption that settlement will be available for those who enter on this route;
– Allowing certain categories of Tier 2 migrant, for example those earning over £150,000 or occupations of a specific economic or social value to the UK, to retain an automatic route to settlement;
– Creating a new category into which, after three years in the UK, the most exceptional Tier 2 migrants may switch and go on to apply for settlement;
– Allowing Tier 2 migrants who do not switch into a settlement route to stay for a maximum of five years with the expectation that they and any dependants will leave at the end of that time;
introducing an English language requirement for adult dependants of Tier 2 migrants applying to switch into a route to settlement;
– Restricting the maximum period of leave for Tier 5 Temporary Workers to 12 months; and
closing or reforming routes for overseas domestic workers.

Damian Green added:
‘A small number of exceptional migrants will be able to stay permanently but for the majority, coming here to work will not lead automatically to settlement in the UK.’
The Government has committed to reforming all routes of entry to the UK in order to bring immigration levels under control. The settlement, Tier 5 and overseas domestic worker reforms will work alongside the annual limit, the new student visa reforms and changes to the family route which will be consulted on later this year.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hails the favorable vote returned by the European Parliament, by a wide margin (487 votes in favor, 77 votes against and 29 abstentions) today, June 8th, 2011, to Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen Area. By this vote the European parliament is sending a clear political message in support of Romania’s quickest joining of the Schengen Area.

The fact that beyond the actual recognition of Romania’s meeting the accession criteria under the Schengen acquis, the European political groups and parliamentarians in general adopted an extremely constructive, principled approach throughout the debates in recognizing the advanced stage of our preparations and, by way of consequence, in declaring open support for our accession.

In the current European context today’s favorable vote reconfirms that the European Parliament remains deeply attached to the European emblematic projects, and that enhancing cooperation at European level is extremely valuable and allows our citizens to appreciate the full benefits of the European construction.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses hope that the positive message conveyed by the European Parliament today with its confidence vote given Romania for its joining the Schengen Area will allow for the adoption by the Council, within the shortest delays, of the decision concerning Romania joining the Schengen Area.

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France will be granting Taiwanese youth the working holiday visa soon, the Bureau Francais de Taipei said Wednesday at the institute’s name change press conference. The Taiwan-France working holiday program is at its final stage of completion and hopefully will be ready before the arrival of summer, said the Bureau Director Patrick Bonneville.

Bonneville noted that a consensus has been reached between the two sides and France will become a new working holiday destination for Taiwanese people as soon as the administrative procedures are finished.

“We hope as soon as possible, ” Bonneville said, but he was unable to give a date for the launch.

Taiwan currently has working holiday visa agreements with six countries — Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and Germany. France is expected to be the seventh.

Institut Francais de Taipei, a name used by the French representative office in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties since 1991, was changed to the Bureau Francais de Taipei in accordance with the French government’s cultural policy abroad.

The French government, since the beginning of 2011, has created a specific public establishment responsible for all overseas cultural and promotional affairs and named it Institut Francais.

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During the month of May 2011, a total number of 865 Visa on Arrival ( VoAs ) were issued . The number of VoAs issued during the month of April 2011 were 1234. During the period January-May 2011, a total number of 5004 VoAs were issued.

The country wise break up of VoAs issued during May 2011 was, Indonesia (122), New Zealand (121), Philippines (206), Japan (177), Singapore (149), Finland (57), Vietnam (6), Myanmar (4), Luxemburg (4) , Laos (1) and Cambodia (18).

The country wise break up of VoAs issued during January-May 2011 was, New Zealand (1067), Japan (954), Philippines (829), Singapore (745), Indonesia (673), Finland (573), Cambodia (67), Vietnam (38), Luxemburg (29) Myanmar (27) and Laos (2).

India is doing a step ahead in the Immigration reform in terms of issuance of Tourist visa. During the period January-May 2011, the maximum number of VoAs were issued at Delhi airport (2766), followed by Mumbai (1166), Chennai (825) and Kolkata (247).

As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists to India, Government has launched a Scheme of “Visa on Arrival” (VoA) from January 2010 for citizens of five countries, viz. Finland, Japan, Luxemburg, New Zealand and Singapore, visiting India for tourism purposes. This scheme has been extended for the citizens of six more countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos and Myanmar from January 2011

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Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya discussed Estonia’s request for Estonian citizens to be able to enter Thailand without a visa, bilateral relations, co-operation in international organisations, and tourism exchange.

Foreign Minister Paet said that Estonian citizens could be given the opportunity to visit Thailand without a visa. “Currently Estonian citizens must apply for a Thai visa at the border,” he noted.

Thai Foreign Minister Piromya promised he would do whatever he could to make sure that Estonian citizens can travel to Thailand without a visa in the near future.

Paet asserted that Thailand is an important partner for Estonia in South-East Asia and that we will soon be prepared to sign an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and a cultural and educational co-operation agreement with Thailand. “Estonia could also be of interest to Thai entrepreneurs as a place to develop a regional distribution centre,” he added.

Foreign Minister Paet also met with Mongolian Foreign Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar in Budapest. Foreign Minister Zandanshatar stated that Mongolia is very interested in learning about Estonia’s reform experiences so that it can strengthen democracy in its own state and learn about how a multi-party system functions.

Paet confirmed that Estonia is open to the idea of sharing its reform experiences with Mongolia. “Establishing regular political consultation would definitely be helpful,” he noted. Estonia will also soon be appointing a non-residing ambassador and an honorary consul to Mongolia.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Latvian Foreign Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis met in Budapest and signed a bilateral agreement on the reciprocal exchange and protection of classified information between Estonia and Latvia.

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All national children under the age of 15 must have an Emirates ID card by the end of this month, the Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) said yesterday.

Although no penalties have been set for families that fail to meet the deadline, officials said they hoped people would be prompt. “There are only a few locals who did not do it yet,” an Eida official said. “That is why we set a deadline.”
Non-nationals are also required to apply for ID cards for children under the age of 15, but no deadline has been set. The cards will be required for anyone renewing their residency visa. That, the official said, would be considered their deadline.

Newcomers to the country will be required to obtain an ID card for their children on arrival. “It will help to see how many people are in the UAE,” the official said. “And it will help the Government in so many things.”
Children do not have to be present at the typing centre when their parents apply for the ID cards. Unlike adults, children do not have to give fingerprints. A parent or guardian must bring passport and visa copies and a passport-sized photo of the child on a light blue background. Any child who has a passport needs an ID card. The cost for children is Dh120.

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Ukraine and Russia will extend their consular presence in the two countries, according to the agreement reached at the fifth meeting of the subcommittee on international cooperation of the Ukrainian-Russian Interstate Commission in Odesa.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko said the expansion of the consular presence is important for the development of bilateral economic cooperation.the sides agreed on the opening of Ukraine’s consulate general in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) and Russia’s consulate general in Donetsk (eastern Ukraine). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, said that Russia wanted to open its consulates general in Sevastopol, Uzhgorod, and Dnipropetrovsk. Hryshchenko noted that this year “very significant work was done to improve the Russian-Ukrainian relations, and it is giving real results.”

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Kosovo will introduce visas for Russian and Chinese nationals, the local media reported.

Kosovo is considering introducing visas for countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, including those who recognized its independence.

Visas will be introduced for Russia and China not because they have not recognized Kosovo’s independence, but because the local authorities believe most refugees arrive from these two countries.

Kosovo’s borders will be open for citizens of the U.S., all regional countries and the EU.

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The increase in H-1B and L1 visa fee by US Congress to fund enhanced border security measures, which was basically intended to have financial implications on Indian companies, is impacting American firms too, a key Democratic Congressman has said, highlighting the need to fix this.

“Mr Speaker, I rise to bring to your attention an unintended consequence brought on when we enacted last year’s emergency supplemental appropriations bill to fund additional border resources HR6080, the Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act,” Congressman Steven R Rothman said on the floor of the House of Representatives.

This bill, the New Jersey Congressman said, was fully paid for by imposing additional fees for new H-1B and L-1 visas on a select group of companies. Specifically, the companies impacted are those with more than 50 employees; and with a US workforce in which more than 50 per cent are on a professional temporary visa — basically the H-1B and L-1 visas.

“While, I applaud the intent of this provision to incentivise job creation at home, I would like to express my concern about the implementation of the additional visa fees. These fees were meant to be targeted at companies who utilise H-1B and L-1 visas at very high levels for the purpose of building their employees’ proficiencies in IT, so that they can take this knowledge and the work back to their home countries,” he noted.

“It turns out, however, that some US companies are being impacted by these fee increases because many of their professionals are stuck in green card backlogs and in the meantime remain in temporary visa status,” Rothman said.

The Congressman noted that in his remarks at the time of Senate passage of HR 6080, Senator Charles Schumer commented that, when the H-1B visa programme is used as a stepping-stone for skilled immigrants to obtain permanent resident status, it is “a good programme for everyone involved. It is good for the company. It is good for the worker.

“And it is good for the American people who benefit from the products and jobs created by the innovation of the H-1B visa holder. I agree with Senator Schumer’s remarks, and encourage my colleagues to work with me on a technical fix that would ensure that the implementation of this bill is consistent with these policy goals,” he said.

“The clearest way to achieve these goals would be to exempt from the so-called ’50/50′ calculation any H-1B or L-1 worker who has sought to acquire permanent residence by taking steps to file or is the beneficiary of a pending or approved application for alien employment certification with the Department of Labour, or a pending or approved immigrant petition with US Citizenship and Immigration Services,” Rothman said.

Those H-1B and L-1 workers are best defined as ‘intending immigrants,’ as they relinquish their non-immigrant intent when their employers pursue a Green Card application on their behalf, he said.

“We should not punish companies that are doing the right thing by investing considerable resources to sponsor professionals for permanent resident visas,” Rothman said.

“They are building a highly skilled workforce in the US within technical specialties in which few American workers with applicable skills exist. This is something we need to do if we are going to grow out of our current economic difficulties,” he said.

Rothman had earlier urged Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, to consider making the technical fix as part of regulatory guidance on this new fee.

“The Department later informed me that such a fix required Congressional action,” he said.

“I raise this issue Mr Speaker, because it is my hope that we can work with our colleagues in the Senate to ensure that companies that are trying to do the right thing are not unintentionally hurt by this provision. Since this unintended consequence was caused by a provision in an appropriations bill, I hope that we can make the necessary technical fix on an appropriations bill at the appropriate time,” Rothman said.